OPERA America draws on resources and expertise from within and beyond the opera field to advance a mutually beneficial agenda that serves and strengthens the field through programs in the following categories:

Creation: Artistic services that help artists and companies increase the creativity and excellence of opera productions, especially North American works;

Presentation: Opera company services that address the specific needs of staff, trustees and volunteers;

Enjoyment: Education, audience development and community services that increase all forms of opera appreciation.

New York City is home to the nation’s largest concentration of performing and creative artists, professional training institutions and music businesses. A majority of OPERA America’s Professional Company Members hold or attend auditions in New York City annually, and opera leaders from Europe and around the world are regular visitors.

In response to the pressing need for appropriate space in New York by members who suffered from the lack of good audition and work facilities in the city, OPERA America created the National Opera Center. The Opera Center serves many functions that support the artistic and economic vitality of the field by providing its constituents with a range and level of services never before possible.

OPERA America serves the entire opera field through research, publications and services. We work daily to facilitate the creation, performance and enjoyment of opera throughout North America. Much of what we do is made possible through generous contributions from opera lovers like you.

OPERA America's Annual Field Report (AFR) is based on the Professional Opera Survey, which member companies complete each year by submitting details of their annual financial, performance and attendance activity. Formerly a stand-alone document, the 2008 Annual Field Report was included within OPERA America's new Year in Review publication, released this past fall. Individual members can access a full-color PDF of the Year in Review by clicking here.

Forty-two of the 74 companies in the Constant Sample Group (CSG) reported a surplus for the year. In FY08, the median revenue and expense among the 74 companies was nearly $2.6 million, while the average company budget size was over $7.2 million. Total individual contributions — including unrestricted, temporarily and permanently restricted — grew 12% from 2007 to 2008.

Total North American productions rose to their highest levels in FY08 compared with the previous four seasons. However, companies, on average, reported a 4% year-over-year decrease in total seats available and a 2.5% year-over-year decline in total attendance.

OPERA COMPANIES IN THE UNITED STATES

Permanently restricted net assets of U.S. companies increased by more than 50% since 2004 to nearly $380 million; 80% of these assets were held by the 10 Level 1 companies.

While operating income from investments tripled from 2004 to 2007, realized and unrealized losses in board-designated endowments and other unrestricted investment funds was negative in 2008, and this contributed to a 20% drop in total earned revenue from 2007 to 2008.

Individual giving continued to represent the largest source of contributed revenue in 2008, increasing by more than 15% over the prior season. Individuals' donations made up more than 50% of total contributed income in all five years of the survey.

On average, companies have increased allocations over the past five seasons to broadcasting and recording expenses, as they seek alternative methods of transmitting the art form to opera lovers and potential new audiences; since 2004, average broadcasting expenses have nearly tripled.

OPERA COMPANIES IN CANADA

Canadian companies, on average, reported positive net income in all seasons surveyed. Even though revenue did decrease from 2007 to 2008, the effects of this were mitigated by strict cost control resulting in the largest average surplus among the seasons surveyed.

Ticket revenue fell almost 20% from 2007 to 2008, accounting for only 37% of total operating revenue in 2008 compared to 44% in 2007. Corporate sponsors, who have traditionally been proportionately more supportive of Canadian companies than US companies, dropped nearly 40% from 2007 to 2008, but the loss in revenue was offset by a 24% increase in individual donations. In 2008, average government support accounted for 43% of contributed income.

Companies in Canada staged more productions and performances in 2008 than in any other season surveyed; attendance reached its highest levels as well, even as total revenue from ticket sales declined, suggesting that more tickets were being purchased at the low-end of the pricing spectrum; subscription renewal rates extended a four-season rise.

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